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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2017)
10 A SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2017 BUSINESS BEAT 541-997-3128 290 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439 www.FlorenceChamber.com www.facebook.com/fl orenceoregon www.twitter.com/FlorenceOrCoast August 12, 2017 Welcome to the Chamber! NEW PREMIER PARTNER Regency Florence 1951 21st St. 541-997-8436 Short Stay Rehabilitation and Long Term Care Facility www.regency-pacifi c.com/ NEW BUSINESS MEMBERS All in 1 Tech solutions Florence Area 541-590-2170 Computer Repair, Tech Support, Web, Logo, & Graphic Design www.allin1tech.com Daniel Harkens Enterprises 159 Florentine Ave. 541-991-0064 Website, Tech Support, DJ Services Lane Community College – Small Business Development Center 101 W. 10th Ave. #304, Eugene 541-463-6200 Small Business Support, Management Programs, Workshops and Classes www.LaneSBDC.com Novelli’s Crab Shack 1498 Bay St. (on the dock) 541-639-7689 “From our boat to your table.” Live & cooked crab, crab chowder & seafood. 2016-2017 Corporate Underwriters Driftwood Shores Resort The Korando Dental Group Three Rivers Casino Resort TR Hunter Real Estate Distinguished Sponsors 101 Things to Do Magazine Banner Bank Bi-Mart all year for two weeks of harvest. We either made it or we didn’t, talk about pressure. Our summertime here in Florence is very similar. Many of our businesses bring in the lion’s share of their revenue for the whole year in these summer months. Th en, they spend it for the next 9 months all over town. Th e Chamber Visitors Center had over 2,000 people through the doors visiting in July and the new website is up and performing with thousands of hits a month. (If you haven’t, check it out at FlorenceChamber.com. I think you’re going to love it!) Th e Visitors Center art exhibits are expanding the visitor experience, we have amazing sand dunes AND we have wonderful art galleries. Guests are seeing Florence in a whole new light – and it’s good for business! Did you know the Chamber is in the solution business? We help our visitors fi nd what they’re looking for and we help our members generate new business. People come in and click on because they are looking for something; a restaurant, hotel, activity, realtor, and everything in between. Th e Chamber refers them to its members. One referral could pay for a business’ yearly membership investment (now available for $20 a month). If your business isn’t a member, what are you missing out on? New customers, business resources, and connections; not to mention supporting the Florence community. Th e Chamber recently polled its members, the results have been very helpful in our WHY. Why do we do what we do? We do it to make our community stronger. More resources mean more opportunities to help people, to hire new employees, to expand businesses. Sustainable economic health is good for our community. Just think, if it weren’t for the $127.6 MILLION DOLLARS that tourism generates in our small community, we wouldn’t have near the services, restaurants, and shopping we do. So let’s add a little sugar to the lemon and enjoy our visitors, appreciate their patronage, and welcome them back soon. Th e Florence Area Chamber of Commerce cares and it shows. our preferences and decide what is most rel- evant to us, then deliver it in a fashion that we can utilize it. Facebook, Google and hundreds of other soft ware companies have found suc- cess with their business model because of their By Bobby Jensen Jr. Chamber Board Member ability to do it so well. Th e awesomeness is in the connection. Th ere are over 1.1 zettabytes of Th e internet is the information being transferred over the inter- source of more infor- net every year and I know because Google just mation than any library told me so when I did a search. Th is ability to ever created. We as obtain information is changing the world and humans are recording how we do business. With this change comes more content and in- opportunity; as well as pitfalls. Many tradi- formation, than we re- tional business models are now failing. A cab corded entirely and col- company just fi ve years ago was a great business lectively everywhere prior to 2006, in one day! model with plenty of opportunity for growth. Th ere is so much out there to search through Any one of us could have been living comfort- that we need programs just to help us navigate ably running a taxi business. But then one day through it all. Th at’s where search engines and Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp (founders social media sites come into play. Th ey take of Uber) decided to take not new but exist- ing technologies and simply change how we interacted with it. Th ey created an application that could turn anyone with a car and internet connected device into a Taxi. Your taxi busi- ness is now earning half of what it used to fi ve years ago and it’s declining more rapidly daily. Look at what online movie streaming did to the video rental stores. Are you going to be Netfl ix or Blockbuster? What we need to do is stop for a moment and take a look at how and what we are doing in our organizations. Is there a way we can use the new technologies to make what we’re currently doing much easier, better, faster or less expensive? Be the early adopter who ac- cepts change and then like a puzzle piece, search for where it fi ts in your current operations. Th e opportunity or detriment of change is based on your attitude when it arrives. Do you welcome it and look for positive applications or do you fi ght it until you can’t any longer. From the Director’s Desk By Bettina Hannigan Chamber Executive Director “Make hay while the sun shines!” Sometimes these old adages really make sense, as in dollars and cents. Summertime in Florence is haying season and the fi elds are full. I know for many locals it’s diffi cult due to traffi c and busy stores, I understand. Growing up on my wheat farm working harvest was a dirty business. Way, way back when I was a kid, our combines and trucks didn’t have air conditioning, temperatures were oft en well over 100 degrees and all that blowing chaff sticking to sweat soaked skin was pretty darned uncomfortable to say the least. We worked CHANGE - It’s good or bad, you decide. Th e Oregon State Chamber of Commerce reports “In OSCC’s view, the commitment to bipartisanship, particularly in the Senate, was the defi ning theme of 2017. From the begin- ning, Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Sa- lem) committed the Senate to bipartisanship in 2017 that had the eff ect of derailing many par- tisan issues that could have harmed sensitive negotiations around balancing the budget and passing a transportation funding plan. Here’s what happened: Business avoids a major tax increase Very early in session, Senate Revenue Chair Mark Hass (D-Beaverton) signaled his desire to pass a major tax reform bill that would replace Oregon’s corporate income tax with a gross receipts tax. It would have created a gross receipts tax on all businesses with $3 million or more in Oregon sales and would have raised a little less than $1 billion in additional revenue for the upcoming 2017-19 budget. Chair Hass abandoned his eff ort to pass HB 2830 in late June when it became clear that there were no Republican legislators willing to vote for the bill. Th e House Leadership quickly responded by passing a bill to increase taxes by $196 mil- lion on small business. HB 2060 eliminated the ‘small business tax cut’ passed by the 2013 legislature and passed by a bare majority in the House. But the Senate did not follow suit. By this time, the Senate had decided to balance the budget without additional revenue. Transportation funding package passes against all odds Prior to the 2017 legislative session, the Legislative Assembly created the Joint Com- mittee on Transportation Preservation and Modernization (JTPM) to develop a transpor- tation policy and funding package for intro- duction during the 2017 session. Th eir work product was embodied in HB 2017 which threaded the needle – a 7-year, $5.3 billion transportation funding plan which addressed major maintenance and seismic needs, multi- modal investment, traffi c congestion relief and public transportation funding. Th e bill passed both chambers in the last days of session with bipartisan majorities. Going forward … what we are watching for • Will the balanced budget hold? Any signifi - cant reversal of economic fortunes or fl uctu- ation in revenues could wreak havoc on the 2017-19 bud- get. Remem- ber, the 2017- 19 budget was balanced on the strength of record high revenues. • Th e 2017-19 budget may still yet be in trou- ble. At least one lawmaker is preparing a referendum on the hospital taxes and health insurance premium taxes in HB 2391. A statewide special election would be called in January 2018 if enough signatures are gath- ered to force an election. • What will the public employee unions do on taxes? Th ey are already collecting signatures for a “Son of 97” gross receipts tax ballot measure. But will they double down on a los- ing 2016 eff ort and a failed attempt to raise taxes in 2017? • Will the bipartisan cooperation in the Oregon Senate continue to hold? While the biparti- san tone produced some meaningful out- comes for the 2017 legislature, it also risks causing some severe backlash among tradi- tional democratic constituencies that want more action on progressive policies.” Th e Florence Area Chamber of Commerce supports legislative advocacy on behalf of its members. One of many chamber benefi ts. Find out more at www.FlorenceChamber.com. Your ticket to fun Oregon Pacific Bank PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center Sea Lion Caves Shippin’ Shack Siuslaw Signs & Graphics Spruce Point Assisted Living The Siuslaw News Be sure to thank these members for their investment in our community! Chamber Aft er Hours with Western Lane Community Foundation. Stop into our offi ce on Th ursday, September 7 for refreshments, and visit with our Board members and Staff . Learn about the Foundation mission and impact in western Lane County. Feel free to discuss with any board member the wonderful contributions our donors have made, allowing us to support local non-profi ts, schools and students with grants and scholarships. Hear exciting news about the growth of our managed funds to over $6 Million! Catering by 1285 Restobar. Event from 4-6pm. 491 Laurel Street West in Country Corners. YOUR LOCAL CHAMBER WANTS YOU. NOW. Volunteers Needed Call 541-997-3128 Visitors Center Meet people from all over the world by volunteering here. Hot Rods • Show & Shine • Vendor Fair • Raffle Prizes Be part of the excitement Volunteer, Participate, Sponsor Call Rosa @ 541-997-3128 Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Fri • Sat • Sun Lofy Construction September 8, 9, 10 Fred Meyer Stores Join Florence Regional Arts Alliance (FRAA) for food, drinks and art as we host the Florence community and FRAA members for Chamber Business Aft er Hours. Danny Weaver will provide music and our very own John Leasure, Board member extraordinaire, will paint during the event and raffl e off one of his paintings. August 17 th from 5:30-7pm at 120 Maple Street in Old Town. October 6, 7, 8 Burns’s Riverside Chapel Fri • Sat • Sun Beachcomber Pub Wine • Glass float Giveaway • Chowder Fun & Rewarding Rods N’ Rhodies Car Show, Poker Walk, Raffle Sales, Merchant Awards. Lots to do!
